Arakan News Agency | Exclusive
Widespread destruction swept through Maungdaw town and its surroundings in Arakan State, western Myanmar, as fierce clashes erupted between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar military between July and December 8, 2024, resulting in the burning and destruction of around 300 Rohingya homes.
The escalation and hostile actions led to the displacement of more than 100,000 Rohingya toward refugee camps in Bangladesh, coinciding with aerial and artillery attacks targeting Rohingya villages by both warring parties.
According to field investigations conducted by Arakan News Agency, the Arakan Army began its military offensive in July 2024 to seize control of Maungdaw city, issuing evacuation orders to local residents. During the offensive, Rohingya villages were targeted by drone and artillery strikes, resulting in casualties and the mass displacement of over 100,000 Rohingya.
After the Arakan Army captured the city on December 8, 2024, some residents were allowed to return to their homes on May 6, 2025, only to find their houses burned down or completely looted. Returnees reported that their possessions including electrical appliances, furniture, windows, and doors had been looted by members of the Arakan Army and extremists from the Arakan ethnicity.
The initial incidents began with the Arakan Army burning 10 homes in Ka Nin Tan ward using drones, 7 homes in Kaba Kaung village, 23 homes in Guniya village, and the seizure of 25 homes in another village, with arson methods used in other villages under accusations that the Rohingya were collaborating with the Myanmar military council.
Meanwhile, the ruling military council in Myanmar carried out air and artillery strikes that destroyed dozens of homes including:
“30 homes near the CSI office in Sai Thela village”, “50 homes near the BAJ office”, “11 homes near the central market mosque and a secondary school”, “15 homes south of the same school”, “64 homes in Myo Oo ward”, 3 homes in “Zula” village, 4 homes in “Zain Tu La” village, 4 homes and a mosque in “Eitahliar” village.
Reports indicate that the Arakan Army and Myanmar’s ruling military council were involved in mutual retaliatory attacks, as the Myanmar military burned more than 30 homes belonging to Arakan, and the Arakan Army responded by torching Rohingya homes in several villages, including “Kaba Kaung” and “Guniya”. Some incidents remain unconfirmed, such as the burning of 10 homes in “China Bati” village, where the responsible party has not been identified.
The total number of homes burned by the Arakan Army and the Myanmar military council during this period was estimated at 300, including:
“80 homes in Ka Nin Tan ward”, “58 homes in Ward No. 2”, “10 homes in Ward No. 1”, “66 homes in Shwe Zar area”, “75 homes and a mosque in Myo Oo ward”.
The Arakan Army was also accused of burning 10 homes in Ka Nin Tan using drones and looting an entire village on the pretext that its residents cooperated with the Myanmar military.
The Arakan Army launched a military campaign in November 2023 against the Myanmar military council to gain control of the state. It succeeded in capturing 14 out of 17 towns. As a result of the conflict, the Rohingya have once again fallen victim to violence, forced displacement, and persecution from both sides—after already suffering a “genocide” at the hands of the Myanmar military in 2017, which forced nearly a million of them to flee to Bangladesh.
